


Toppings

by dsa_archivist



Category: due South
Genre: Humor, M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-12-13
Updated: 2000-12-13
Packaged: 2018-11-10 05:44:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11121096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dsa_archivist/pseuds/dsa_archivist
Summary: Ray puts Benny to the test.  Suggestive of RV/BF slash, but nothing overt, title or no title.





	Toppings

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Speranza, the archivist: this story was once archived at [Due South Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Due_South_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Due South Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/duesoutharchive).

Pairing: RV/BF

Pairing: RV/BF

Rated <G>

Dedicated to Manna for her survey question "What would you most like to do with your favorite DS character and a bottle of Hershey's syrup?" and to my roomie Vina, who challenged me to write this.

Feedback always welcome at

TOPPING

By Acer canadensis

"Hey, they've got a sundae bar!" Ray set his tray down, picked up two bowls, and handed one to Ben. "This was the only part of eating in a cafeteria I ever liked." He quickly covered his ice cream with hot fudge, whipped cream, nuts, and three cherries, then picked up his tray. "You see any open tables?"

Ben scanned the room. "I believe there's a space at the far end of this one." Weaving their way through the other police officers, volunteer firemen, paramedics, and civilians at the Chicago Safety Seminar, they made it to the open bench and sat down.

"So, you get anything out of this yet?" Ray took a bite of his hamburger.

Ben paused with a forkful of Chicken A La King. "Did I get anything out of...?"

"This. The seminar. You get anything good you can write on your report for the Dragon Lady on how to make Canada a safer place to live and work and bring up children?"

"Ray, I wish you wouldn't... but yes, I did find some of the presentations quite good."

"Oh, come on, Benny, I haven't heard anything this morning that I haven't known since third grade."

"Well, I admit that most of the material is a bit... uninspired, but the principles are sound. For example..."

They bickered amiably over the meal, then pushed their plates aside and turned their attention to dessert. Ray took a spoonful of his, then glanced across the table and stopped dead. "You call that a sundae?"

Ben looked down at his scoop of plain vanilla ice cream. "Is something wrong?"

Ray rolled his eyes. "You've got to learn how to live a little, Fraser. Here." Picking up one of his cherries by the stem, he transferred it to Ben's bowl. "If they're going to make us take time out of our own lives to hang out at my old high school on a Saturday and talk about deadbolts and how most accidents occur in the home, we're going to at least get some decent ice cream out of it."

"Oh. Thanks, Ray." Ben picked up his spoon and carefully ate his way around the cherry, saving it for last. Finally he dropped it in his mouth, and was about to place the stem on the side of his tray when Ray stopped him.

"Bet you can't knot the stem."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Tie a knot in the stem. It's a tradition."

"Oh." Puzzled, Ben looked down at the thin red length in his hand. "Any particular kind of knot?"

"Just a knot. You know, the regular kind. But you can't do it with your hands."

"Excuse me?"

"You have to do it with your tongue."

"My tongue?"

"Yeah. You stick the stem in your mouth, and you tie a knot in it."

"And this is a tradition, you say?"

"Sure."

Looking doubtful, Ben raised the stem to his lips. Ray smiled encouragingly, and he slipped it in. "Aren't you going to participate?" He indicated Ray's empty bowl, which contained two cherry stems. Ray shrugged, picked one up, and popped it in his mouth.

Ray hadn't tied a cherry stem in years; once past the teens, it didn't work nearly as well to impress dates. After a few halfhearted tries, he gave up and let it lie on his tongue. Watching Ben was more fun anyway.

Ben, with a look of intense concentration on his face, was giving it his all. His eyebrows went up and down as his mouth went through a variety of contortions. Ray wondered what the women of Chicago would do if they could see this, and realized that teaching the Mountie traditional flirtation moves probably wasn't the best idea. God forbid he ever tried it with anyone else; he'd do it so innocently, and end up getting himself jumped. Perhaps Ray ought to warn him...

"Aha!" With a triumphant smile, Ben produced the stem, now neatly knotted. He dropped it into his bowl. "Have you finished yours?"

Ray took his own stem out of his mouth. "Nah. I was never much good at it. We should probably go, though. We have to get ready for our panel."

"All right." Taking their trays, they headed for the conveyor belt. 

Ray debated over telling Ben the truth about the "tradition," but finally decided that the odds of Ben's ever eating maraschino cherries in front of anyone but him were lower than the odds of Ben's asking awkward questions about why Ray was teaching him sex games. "You ready to go?"

"Mm hmm." Ben held the door for him as they left the cafeteria. "And by the way, Ray... thanks for giving me your cherry."

Ray jumped and snuck a quick look at his friend's innocent face. "You're welcome," he managed. Ben couldn't possibly know... could he?

END


End file.
